The God Who Opens Doors - Joel Osteen

Read Textual Sermon from Joel Osteen

God bless you. It's great to be with you today. I hope you'll stay connected with us during the week through our daily podcast, our YouTube channel, and social media. We'll keep you encouraged and inspired.

I like to start with something funny. I heard about this pastor. He was new in town, and he was going door to door inviting people to his church. He knocked on this one door. He could tell someone was home, but no one would answer. So, he took his business card out and wrote on the back the scripture reference, Revelation 3:20, and left it on the door.

The next Sunday after service, an usher handed him the same card. Under what the pastor had written was the scripture reference, Genesis 3:10. Here's what they say:

Revelation 3:20, the pastor's words: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone opens the door, I will come in.”

The reply was Genesis 3:10. It says, “I heard your voice, and I was afraid, because I was naked.”

Say it like you mean it: This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today, I will be taught the Word of God. I boldly confess: my mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I will never be the same, in Jesus' name.

God bless you. I want to talk to you today about the God who opens doors.

We all face situations where it seems like the door is shut. We're working hard but not getting good breaks. The loan didn't go through. We still haven't met anyone. Thoughts will tell you, “That door is never going to open. You can't accomplish your dreams. You don't have the training. You're locked out.”

Sometimes it's like a door has been slammed in our face. A person walked away, a friend betrayed us, we came down with an illness. The door looks permanently locked. But the scripture says, “God will open doors that no person can shut.” God is your doorkeeper. He's in control of the doors in your life.

You may be up against a door that seems locked. No way you can get well. No way you can start your business. No way you can break that addiction. That door is deadbolted, chained. No. When it's your time, the Most High God will break the chains. He's about to unlock some doors that have been locked. You're about to walk into what you've been shut out of—promotion, healing, freedom, the right people.

Don't believe the lies that the doors are permanently closed. The God who opens doors is about to show out in your life.

Maybe you've been shut out of abundance. Stuck behind a door of lack, not enough. I can see that door opening up right now. God is doing a new thing. He's about to take you where you've never been.

The Israelites wandered in the desert forty years, shut out of the Promised Land. They could see it, but they couldn't go in it. The door was closed. The people living there were bigger, stronger, more powerful. They couldn't defeat them. But just because the door has been closed doesn't mean it's going to stay closed.

God told Joshua, “It's time to possess the land.” He was saying, “Joshua, I know the door has been shut. I haven't allowed you to go in. The obstacles were too big. But this is a new season. I'm going to open this door so you can enter the Promised Land.”

Doors that have been closed a long time for you are about to open. David said in Psalm 24, “Open up ancient gates and the King of Glory will come in.” Ancient gates mean things that have been shut for years—doors that have been closed in your family line for generations, things you've been shut out of—dealing with addictions, depression, low self-esteem, mediocrity. Those ancient gates are about to open up. Like the Israelites, you're about to walk into your Promised Land—to blessings, freedom, wholeness, success.

I can see chains breaking right now, deadbolts coming off, doors opening. You're coming out of generational curses, generational limitations, generational struggles—into generational blessings. What's been stored up for your family is about to be released with you. What's been held back, what should have been yours—it's not lost, it's been accumulating. Ancient gates are going to open up.

You couldn't make this happen. It's the King of Glory. It's the Most High God. It's your doorkeeper doing what only He can do.

Here's a key: the doors that have been closed weren't closed by accident. God was getting you prepared for what's next. The scripture says He didn't take the Israelites the shortest route to the Promised Land because they weren't ready for war. They would have been defeated by their enemies. That time you've been shut out, the door has been closed, was not wasted. God was doing a work in you—getting you stronger, making sure you could carry the weight of glory.

You were faithful. You kept doing the right thing. You didn't complain when it wasn't fair. You didn't get bitter over who did you wrong. You passed the test. You proved to God you would be faithful. Now you're going to come into favor, resources, opportunities. You're going to see what your parents and grandparents dreamed of. You're going to walk into the blessing that they prayed for.

These ancient gates are about to open for you. It's because of your grandmother's prayers. It's because your great-grandfather honored God. You're going to see generational blessings.

My father dreamed of having an auditorium with twenty thousand seats. He talked about how one day he was going to buy the Compaq Center. This is when he had an auditorium that held two thousand people. Years before the Rockets ever moved out of this facility, God put the dream in him. He could sense something big was coming. But that door never opened. He stayed shut out.

But God knows what He's doing. He's a faithful God. The fulfillment of that dream wasn't for my father—it was for his children. That was an ancient gate that had been shut. It was in our family line. God had already promised it. At the right time, the Doorkeeper opened that ancient gate. I'm living in the dream that started with my father.

Daddy was very influential, he was very blessed, but he never saw the favor that God has shown me. I say this in humility, giving God all the credit, but God has taken me much further than my father. I often think about what my father would think now. He couldn't even fathom what God is doing.

I believe there are blessings stored up in your family line. Your parents, those that went before you—they may have seen God's goodness. They were blessed, but they didn't realize it was limited. They were, in some ways, still locked out.

Like God did with me, you're going to see ancient gates open up. You're going to see the fullness of what God had in mind. Maybe there's been depression in your family line, sicknesses—everybody gets heart disease, everyone gets divorced, strife, division. It's like you've been locked out of good relationships, locked out of happiness, locked out of good health.

God is saying those ancient gates are about to open. Doors that have been shut for your family, chains that have limited you for generations, are being broken. God is releasing you into increase, into new levels, into something that you've never seen.

It wasn't what you did—it was the Doorkeeper showing you favor, bringing the right people, freeing you from that addiction, lifting you out of struggle and lack into more than enough.

Get this down in your spirit: doors are about to open. God's going to take you where you can't go on your own. Chains that have kept those doors locked—they're deadbolted, they look permanent. They are no match for our God.

Psalm 107 says, “He broke down their gates of bronze; He cut in two their bars of iron.” You may have struggled with a sickness a long time. It looks like you'll never get well. The door to health has been chained, so to speak. I can see the chain breaking. I can see the hinges moving.

God's about to do something supernatural. That addiction, depression, anxiety may seem permanent. Every thought tells you you'll have to live with it, you've been locked out of freedom. I can see the deadbolt turning. I can see the door starting to open. You're about to walk into wholeness.

It seems like you can't accomplish your dream. You don't have the connection, the loan didn't go through. It's like it's an iron door, it will never move. I can see those bars of iron being cut in two. I can see God doing something unusual, uncommon. He's about to unlock some things that have been limiting you. Doors that look impossible are about to suddenly open—a door to healing, a door to freedom, a door to promotion, a door to a spouse, a door to a baby.

The report may say you can't have children. You've tried everything, seems like the door is locked. Medically speaking, it's not going to happen. No—get ready, the Doorkeeper is about to open up your womb. Against all odds, you're going to conceive and have that baby you've been dreaming about.

You've been single a long time, that door to meeting someone has been closed. Thoughts will tell you, “You'll always be lonely.” No—a door is about to open. You're about to see a divine connection. The right person is already en route. The reason you haven't seen them yet is they've been behind a closed door.

The good news is God is your Doorkeeper. He knows not only how to open the door but when to open the door. When it's the right time, all the forces of darkness cannot stop what God has purposed for your life. You need to tell every closed door, “You are not permanent. You will not keep me from my destiny. You don't have the final say. My Doorkeeper has the final say. He's promised He will open doors no person can shut. He will cut through bars of iron. He will break chains to get me into my purpose.”

I can see right now, through my eyes of faith, doors opening. I can see chains breaking. I can see you stepping into new levels of freedom, health, favor, abundance. I can see ancient gates—gates that have held you back for years—opening up. The King of Glory is about to come in. He's going to do things you can't explain. It's going to be supernatural—doors opening that you never dreamed would open, promotion coming to you, the right people showing up, healing when the report says there's no way, freedom from things that have limited you. These open doors are going to catapult you into a new level of your destiny.

In Acts 12, King Herod had Peter arrested and put in prison. Herod was against the church. He had already had James, one of the apostles, killed. It looked like Peter would be next. He was in the deepest part of the prison, chained between two guards. Herod had assigned sixteen soldiers to watch over Peter. There were two guard stations with two doors he would have to pass. On top of that, there was a huge iron gate at the entrance of the property. Herod went to great lengths to make sure that Peter didn't escape. What he didn't realize was—he was not the Doorkeeper. He was not in control of Peter's destiny.

There will always be people and circumstances that try to keep you behind closed doors. Like Herod assigned those soldiers to hold Peter back, there are forces assigned to you to try to stop your purpose. The good news is: the forces that are for you are greater than the forces that are against you. You may have these times where you're behind closed doors. You feel like you're outnumbered, the odds are against you. You have to remind yourself who your Doorkeeper is. You have to keep this scripture in your spirit: God will open doors that no person can shut.

The enemy may have put you behind a door of sickness, a door of trouble, a door of addiction. You feel chained, there's no way out. Your time is coming. God wouldn't have let that door close if He didn't have a way to open it.

We have a gate on our driveway at home. Sometimes when a friend is coming over, or a repairman, I'll watch for them out the back door. I can see when a car pulls up. They'll come to the gate and stop. When they're about to get out and try to figure out how to get in, I'll hit the remote control from the house. The gate opens, they drive in. Invariably they'll say, “I didn't know how I was going to get in, then the gate just opened up.” I tell them, “Yes, I was watching for you. I have the remote control.”

In life, you'll come to these times where you're at a gate, a closed door. You don't have the code, you don't know how you can get through it. It's too big. It's an iron gate. Don't worry—God has the remote. There's not a gate you're behind that God doesn't have the control. It works all the way from Heaven. All He has to do is push the button, give the command, and angels go to work. These mighty warriors, these powerful forces, carry out God's command.

When you come to a closed door, an iron gate—like I was watching for my company, knowing that they weren't going to be able to get in on their own—how much more is God watching for you? How much more is He aware of what you need, where you are, what you're up against? He knows when you're at a big gate, an iron door. You don't have the code. The sickness is staring at you, the financial problem, the child that's off course. You're locked out—no way you can get past that gate. Stay in peace. God sees you, and He has the remote. When it's the right time, that gate will open. Chains will be broken; bars of iron will be cut in two. When God wants it to open, nothing can stop Him from opening it.

Peter was in prison, chained between two guards. The next day he was going to be brought to trial. He knew there was a good chance this was the last night of his life. What was he doing? Worrying, complaining, pacing the floor? No—in his most difficult challenge, he was sound asleep. He understood this principle. Even though there was an iron gate in front of him, there was no way he could get out on his own. He knew that God was his Doorkeeper, that God had the remote control. So, when he could have been panicked, frustrated, he was at rest.

I've learned—when you rest, God goes to work. But when you work, when you're worried, stressed, “What am I going to do?”—God rests. Come back to a place of peace. God has the remote control to any door you're facing. The enemy may have closed it, there's an iron gate, but God is the Doorkeeper.

Herod did his best to keep Peter from getting out. What he didn't realize is—he couldn't keep God from coming in. The scripture says, “God is a very present help in trouble.” God comes with you in the prison, in the hospital, in the betrayal.

While Peter was sleeping, in the middle of the night, an angel showed up, walked over to Peter to wake him up. Notice how God comes to the dark places. He comes when you're hurting, when you're lonely, when life is not fair. You couldn't get to Him, but God comes to you. He's with you right now. He has something in His hand—it's the remote control. He knows how to bring you out.

The moment Peter woke up, the chains fell off his wrists. The angel didn't have a key. He didn't have some big wire cutters. Supernaturally, the chains fell off. The angel told Peter to get dressed and follow him. It's significant that none of the other guards woke up. God is strategic. He knows how to hide you. He knows how to make you invisible to the enemy.

The angel and Peter walked out of the dungeon. They passed the first set of guards—the guards didn't see them. They passed the second set of guards—same thing. Everything was great up to this point, but now they came to the iron gate. This was the big one. It secured the whole facility.

I can imagine Peter thinking, “Oh man, what are we going to do now? We made it through those small doors, but this one looks impossible.”

The angel said, “Peter, just keep on walking.”

They're walking toward a gate that's not opening, moving toward a gate that's made out of iron. 

Every thought was telling Peter, “You're stuck, nothing's happening, there's no way to get out.” But they just kept on walking. When they got to the gate, the scripture says, “The gate opened of its own accord.” What happened? God hit the remote control. Herod thought he controlled the gate. He didn't realize God was Peter's Doorkeeper.

There may be gates that are controlled by other people, but when it affects your destiny, God becomes the Doorkeeper. Herod's men had control of that gate to a point, but when it affected Peter and his purpose, God said, “I'll take the remote.”

When you realize God is your Doorkeeper—that even iron gates, doors that look impossible, situations where you don't see a way out—that God has the remote control, then you can live in peace. You can stay in faith knowing that God will get you to where you're supposed to be.

Part of the test is when the gate is not moving. Peter kept walking—it didn't open up until he got up to it. You have to keep walking by faith. The medical report is not improving, your child is not doing better, your dream is not any closer. That iron gate is staring at you. Thoughts are whispering, “You might as well go back. You made it through a couple closed doors, but this big one is not going to open. You see the iron, you see the medical report, you know what your finances are.”

No—keep walking by faith and not by sight. When it's the right time, it's going to open of its own accord. You didn't have to force it, manipulate, strive. It will be the hand of God.

That's what happened with us with the Compaq Center. After working almost three years, one of our main votes backed out. Now we were one vote shy. The final vote was in two days. It didn't look like it would happen. Like Peter, this was an iron gate. We were tempted to think, “It's too late now, this gate is not going to open.” Instead, we just kept on walking. “God, we only have twenty-four hours left. We don't see a way. It looks impossible, but we know you're our Doorkeeper. You're the one that opens and closes doors.”

At the last minute, a lady I had never met called a council member that had been against us the whole time, and he suddenly changed his mind—and we got the facility. The gate opened of its own accord. I didn't make it happen. It wasn't my skills, my talent—it was the hand of God, moving on a lady that I didn't know, to call a council member on our behalf. She was able to do in five minutes what I couldn't do in three years.

You may not see any sign of that iron gate opening. It looks immovable—the sickness, the addiction. How can you accomplish your dream? Just keep on walking by faith. Keep thanking God, keep declaring His promises, keep speaking victory. God is about to step in as your Doorkeeper.

It's going to be unusual. Of its own accord, it's going to open. It's not going to happen the way you think, with the people you think, how the experts think. You're not going to be able to explain it. You will know it is the hand of God.

What's interesting is the whole time Peter was following the angel, he thought he was dreaming. He thought he was seeing himself leaving the dungeon, going past the guards, the iron gate opening. He didn't realize it was real until he got out on the street, walking as a free man. Then the angel suddenly disappeared.

Sometimes while God is working, you don't realize all that's happening while you're in it. He's doing things right now that are leading you to the open doors. Only after you get past it, you'll look back and think, “Wow, God, you were with me the whole time. You were ordering my steps. You brought that person across my path for a reason. You made me invisible to those people that weren't for me.”

How many times have angels worked on our behalf, but we couldn't see it? Even now, God is working behind the scenes. There are doors He's about to open for you—doors of healing, doors of freedom, doors to abundance. It looks like an iron gate, but of its own accord, it's going to open.

When Peter realized what had happened, that it was real, he walked to Mary's house where everyone had gathered to pray for him. It was in the middle of the night. He knocked on the door. A young lady answered. She was so surprised to see Peter, she shut the door, ran back and told everyone that Peter was there. I'm sure Peter thought, “God, not another closed door.”

Verse 16 says, “Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door, they were all amazed at what God had done.” There are doors God will open for you that are going to amaze you.

Now, don't be discouraged because they've been closed a long time. That was all a part of the process. God has not forgotten about you. The angel is about to show up. Iron gates are about to open. It's not going to be what you were thinking. It's going to be bigger, better, more fulfilling.

A friend of mine worked as a television news reporter. She had a real bad problem with rosacea. Her skin would get so red. She couldn't find any makeup that would keep it covered. If she accidentally touched her face, it would rub off and not look good. She decided to quit her job and try to develop makeup that would fix her problem. She came up with a product that she really loved.

She and her husband tried to get funding, but bank after bank turned them down—told them how the cosmetic field was too competitive, it was controlled by a few global companies, that there was no way they could break in. It was like an iron gate. She didn't see how it could ever open. But she did understand that God is our Doorkeeper, that He can open doors no person can shut.

Her dream was to get on QVC, one of the home shopping networks. She knew if people could see her product, they would want it. She contacted QVC, but she was turned down again and again. There were so many people trying to get on.

She was down to her last thousand dollars, didn’t know what she was going to do. She went to a big cosmetic convention. She had a three-feet-wide booth where she was showing people her product. Across the way, QVC had a huge display. This older lady came by and said, “Honey, I love your product. I’m one of the buyers for QVC. I’m going to tell my staff we need to have you on.”

She used her influence to open the door. This young lady went on QVC, her product took off, broke all kinds of records. My friend Jaime Kern, the founder of IT Cosmetics, became a huge success. She was on QVC two hundred times a year. Her company is one of the largest cosmetic companies in the world.

Years later, Jaime asked that lady why she put in a good word for her. The lady said, “Jaime, I liked your product, but it wasn’t about the cosmetics. When I saw you that day, I heard God say to me, go help that young lady.”

Sometimes God will use people to open up these iron gates. He has the right people already lined up for you. You may not even know them now—they will come to you. They'll use their influence to push you forward. You don't have to make it happen. You just keep honoring God, keep Him first place, and the Doorkeeper will open doors that no person can shut.

Like Jaime, you may have worked hard, prayed, believed, done all you can, but nothing has worked out. Get ready—I believe and declare, doors are about to open for you: in your business, your health, relationships, your finances. Like Peter, those iron gates, doors that look permanent—of their own accord—are going to suddenly open.

In Jesus’ name.

If you receive it, can you say amen?

I'd like to give you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say:

“Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and Savior.”

If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. We'd love to send you some free information on your new walk with the Lord. You can text the number on the screen or you can go to the website. I hope you'll get into a good Bible-based church and keep God first place.